This blog aims at bringing out the past glory of India, Hinduism and its forgotten values and wisdom. This is not copyrighted so as to reach genuine seekers of these information. Its my prayer that only genuine seekers - and not vandals & plagiarists - come to this site.

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Vēḷāṅkaṇṇi is
a Christian pilgrimage site—that is what most of us have been led to believe.
We may however be surprised to learn about its Śaiva origins.

‘Kaṇṇi’ in
Tamil means ‘she who has beautiful eyes’. In the ‘agam’ poems
of the Sangam corpus belonging to the ‘kuriñjithiṇai’, we find the
name of an ancient lady poet bearing the name ‘Kāma-kaṇṇi’

In the history of the Śaiva tradition in Tamil Nadu,
there is one thing that draws our attention—in the Śivālayas that were
constructed after the lifetime of the Samaya-kuravas, the tradition
of using unique Tamil names to refer to the Śiva and Śakti deities in Śaiva
temples, which was established by the Dēvāram-trinity, is
faithfully followed. When we read the Dēvāram poems, we come across
several such names of Ambikā.

‘Vēḷāṅkaṇṇi’ is etymologically derived from the old
name ‘Vēlana-kaṇṇi’—a name by which Ambikā is known in the Dēvāram:

Being known for possessing eyes (kaṇ) shaped
like fish (cēl), she is known as cēlaṉa-kaṇṇi;
similarly owing to her eyes appearing like a spear-head (vēl =
spear) eyes, she is also known as vēlaṉa-kaṇṇi. Feminine epithets
such as cēlaṉa-kaṇṇi and vēlaṉa-kaṇṇi are
based on uvamai (similes).

About 10 kilometres south of the site of the Veḷāṅkaṇṇi
basilica, we find another town named ‘Karuṅkaṇṇi’ (“she who is
black-eyed”).

‘Karuntaṭaṅkaṇṇi’ is
also one of the epithets of Ambā. Vēliṉērtaru-kaṇṇi is also
one of the epithets by which she is praised in the Dēvāram.

Iru-malar-kaṇṇi is
another beautiful epithet of Himavān’s daughter. The undying fame of
Maduraiyaambati (Madurai) is due to the power of aṅgayaṟkaṇṇi (Meenakshi).
At the temple of Tirukkaṟkuḍi, she is known as maiyār-kaṇṇi, or maimēvu-kaṇṇi(añjanākṣī).

At Kōḍiyakkarai in the kuzhagar-ālayam,
Ambā is known as maiyār-taṭaṅ-kaṇṇi. Chēramān Perumāḷ Nāyanār and
Sundaramūrti Swāmi have arrived and worshipped together at this sthalam.
Aruṇagirināthar has also composed hymns on this shrine. This site is also
pointed out in the late Śri Kalki R. Krishnamurthy’s famous novel ‘Ponniyiṉ
Selvaṉ’. This is also a śiva-sthala located near the shore. Vāḷnutaṟkaṇṇi is
another name—when Īśa was deep in tapas, and her oblique glance
disturbed him, the result was the appearance of Muruga. One can come across her
other similar names such as Kāvyaṅkaṇṇi, Nīḷneḍuṅkaṇṇi, Vēlneḍuṅkaṇṇi,
Varineḍuṅkaṇṇi, Vāḷārkaṇṇi, etc.

Māṉeḍuṅkaṇṇi is
another name—it means ‘she who has wide eyes like a deer’ (deer = maan in
Tamil):

Thus have the saints submerged in the ‘science of
beauty’ described the mother’s beautiful and karuṇā-laden eyes
using many epithets.

All these names are most certainly influenced by the
Dēvāram. It was considered the duty of the king to inscribe at least one or two patikas (poems
of the Tirumurai) on thepaliṅku (marble) boards in every śivālaya—it
was to demonstrate that the patika of the Devāram had an
inseparable association with that town.

Even Māṇikkavāchakar has praised the beautiful eyes
of Ambikā:

“māvaṭuvakiraṉṉakaṇṇi paṅkāniṉ malaraṭik
kēkūviṭuvāy”

— Thiruvāchakam

Seashore Śivālayas

All along the eastern coast of Tamilnadu, the Śaiva
tradition had prospered. Jñānasambandhar describes the māsi-magha festival
thus:

In all the shore-temples, for the māsi-magha
tīrthavāri, it is an ancient custom to take the deity’s utsava
murtis (idols) to the seashore for a ritual immersion into the waters,
and this tradition still prevails today.

Vēḷāṅkaṇṇi is also one among several seashore
temples like Ādipurīśvara at Tiruvoṟṟiyūr, Kapālīśvara at Mylāpūr, Marundīśvara
temple at Tiruvānmiyūr, Vēdapurīśvara temple in Pondicherry, Kāyārohaṇeśvara
temple in Nāgapaṭṭanam, Kuzhagar temple in Kōḍiyakkarai, Vēdavananātha temple
in Vēdāraṇyam, Darbhāraṇyeśvara temple in Kāraikkāl, Māsilāmaṇinātha temple in
Puhār, which are situated along the southern coast.

In Mylāpūr we have Vālīśvara, Mallīśvara, Veḷḷīśvara,
Kāraṇīśvara, Tīrthapālīśvara, Virūpākṣīśvara sthalas—apart from the
Kapālīśvara temple. Across Chennai, most areas are filled with Śivālayas, which
are too numerous to cover here.

Tiruvadikai Vīraṭṭānam (one of Śiva’saṣṭa-vīrasthānas
where He is worshipped as Tripurāntaka)—is associated with the history of
Tirunāvukkarasar and one of thesthalas that the samaya-kuravas have
composed hymns on. Here the main deity is called Vīraṭṭānēsvara
(Vīrasthānēśvara) and his consort is named Periyanāyaki (Bṛhannāyakī).

Tiruchōpuram (also called Tyāgavalli)—is a shore
temple near Kaḍalūr on which Jñāna-sambandhar has composed hymns. The main
deity is Chōpuranātha (also called Maṅgalapurīśvara), his consort is Vēlneḍuṅkaṇṇi.

Tiruchāykkāḍu (also called Chāyāvanam)—again this is
a seashore temple located at the mouth of the Kāvēri river, built by Chola king
Kōcheṅkaṇāṉ, worshipped by Iyaṟpagai Nāyanār and is also the site of his mukti.

Tirunāvukkarasar, Kāḻipiḷḷai and Aiyaḍikaḷ Kāḍavarkōṉ
have composed hymns on this shrine. The main deity is Chāyāvanēśvara.

The 9th century hymn itself makes it amply clear
that it is a temple located near the sea shore.

Currently the temple comes under the area called
Melapperumpallam. Situated near Puhār (Poompuhar)

The Silappadhikāram says that there were temples of
the Unborn One (Śiva) and the six-faced god (ṣaṇmukha kārttikeya) in
Puhār:

“piṟavāyākkaipperiyōṉkōyilum,aṟumukaccevvēḷaṇitikaḻkōyilum….”

In today’s Puhār, we find a temple for Śiva (known
as Pallavaneśvara, with his consort known as Saundarya-nāyaki).

There is a small town called Paravai about 2 kms
west of Vēḷāṅkaṇṇi. Sundaramūrti Swāmi’s wife Paravai Nācciyār was born there.
In Tamil, ocean is called Paravai. Upamanyu Bhakti Vilāsam refers to this lady
as Sāgarikā. Since the ocean has retreated, the temple here is not situated
close to the shore now like it once used to be.

Nāgūr has a shore-temple of Śiva as Nāganātha (Lord
of Nāgas) with goddess Nāgavalli. The town gets its name from the name of this
deity. Associated with Kāmika-āgama, this is a very ancient temple. The Nagore
Dargah (grave site of a Sufi dervish known locally as Nagūr-āṇḍavar i.e. the
god of Nagūr) was established much later during the Maratha rule. The true
nāgūr-āṇḍavar (god of Nāgūr) was the consort of goddess Nāgavalli—Śri Nāganātha.

In the Nāgapattanam region, one of the 63 Nāyanmārs
called Adipatta Nāyanār who was born in a kula (family) of
fishermen in a village called Nuzhaippāḍi by the seashore—where there exists a
temple.

Before Lord Muruga (Skanda) went to war against the asuras,
he is said to have got the blessings of the three-eyed lord (Śiva) at
Tirucchendūr.

Rāmeśvaram has the world-famous pilgrimage site
where Lord Rāma sought the help of Śiva on his way to Laṅkā.

Vēḷāṅkaṇṇi is just one more such shore
temple like all these.

When a building site in
Velankanni was dug up to lay the foundations, Somaskanda, Rama, Goddess
Sivakami, Saint Sundarar, Narttana Vinayaka and 13 other
panchola silas (murtis) were found. They have been deposited at
Kilavelur Taluka Office.

Archeologists have found large number of daiva-śilās and pañcaloha idols
buried in this location. In the Vēḷāṅkaṇṇi town, there is another śivālaya called
Rajatagirīśvara. Whether this is an ancient temple or a recently rebuilt one is
yet to be established. If its origin is found, it is possible to unearth other
bits of the place’s history.

Sri Rajata Girisvarar Swami Kovil at
Velankanni

A few centuries back, when the Portuguese, Danish,
and French invaded these shore sites, they destroyed several Hindu temples.
They also established Christian churches there. The demolition of the
Kapālīśwara temple at Chennai and the Vedapurīśwara temple at Pondicherry are
good examples of the level of Christian tolerance.

The Goa shores also had several temples which were
destroyed by the Portugese. In 1567 Portugese missionaries destroyed about 350
temples in Goa. In those times, Hindus were even forbidden to grow the tulasi (holy
basil) plant.

Cultural appropriation by missionaries

Wearing kāvi (saffron) robes,
building churches that resemble temple architecture, placing Koḍi Marams (dhvaja
sthamba) in front of churches, deliberately using Sanskrit words like
Vedāgamam, Suviseṣam, Agni, Abhiṣekam, Sarvāṅgadahanabali, flag hoisting, doing ratha
yātras and other rituals are being appropriated and used specifically
to lure Hindus into their religion, and this has been happening over centuries.
One of the aspects of this deception involves clothing idols of Mother Mary in
sarees according to the Tamil style and using the name of the local Hindu deity
‘Vēlana-kaṇṇi’ to refer to Mary as Vēḷāṅkaṇṇi. This is the truth.

Mother Umā is known as Periyanāyaki (Skt. bṛhannāyakī).
In the famous Thanjāvūr temple, Śiva is known by the name Bṛhadīśvara and his
consort is called Bṛhannāyakī—and this is known to all. This name has been
stolen without shame and used by missionaries as the name of Mary, as
Periyanāyaki-Mātā.

Truth hurts. Christians have no reason to get
annoyed. After insulting Hindu deities calling them devils, demons, etc—and on
the other hand appropriating their names and symbols and using them in Christianity
to refer to Jesus and Mary—this is in no way proper. Christians in Tamilnadu
who have a conscience should reflect on these things.

Some Questions

Today Vēḷāṅkaṇṇi has been promoted and established
as an extremely popular Christian pilgrimage site. But the questions that probe
how it came to be a Christian site remain.

Is there any Biblical proof to show that Vēḷāṅkaṇṇi
is a Christian name?

Else who named it Vēḷāṅkaṇṇi? Were they Portugese
sailors, or the Papal authority in the Vatican? Or is it the missionaries who
came later?

Is worshipping Mary as an independent deity (opposed
in Trinitarian
Christianity) acceptable to Biblical and Christian theology?

If this is a common Christian shrine, why don’t all
sects of Christians come and worship here?

What is the relation between Ārogya and the name Vēḷāṅkaṇṇi?
(Arogya Matha—Lady of Health)

What is the relation between Vēḷāṅkaṇṇi and Lourdes
of the East conceptually? Is there any tradition of flag hoisting and ratha
yātras at other Lourdes shrines? Will European devotees of the Lady
of the Lourdes shave their heads?

It has been accepted by Christians themselves that there
is no basis for the apparitions of Mother Mary that are claimed to have
occurred in Vēḷāṅkaṇṇi. That being the case, how did this church become
‘Lourdes of the East’?

Why is Mary, the Lady of the Lourdes, not commonly
worshipped in other places as the Lady of Good Health?

Why did this site where many miracles are said to
have occurred not gain the status of basilica until
1962? The miracles are claimed to be hundreds of years old, yet why did it not
gain basilica status during British rule?

They say this holy site was believed to have mahimā right
from the start. Yet from Warren Hastings until Mountbatten, among the forty or
so governor generals who ruled India, there is no record of any of them having
visited the Lady of Health at Vēḷāṅkaṇṇi. What is the reason for this
contradiction?

Even those native Christian scholars such as Henry
Albert Krishna Piḷḷai, who wrote Rakṣaṇya Yātrikam (a Tamil retelling of the
‘Pilgrim’s Progress’), Māyūram Vedanāyakam Piḷḷai, etc., who lived just a
century ago do not appear to have mentioned anything about the Vēḷāṅkaṇṇi
apparitions, or shaved their heads in Vēḷāṅkaṇṇi.

Even in the ‘Christian Songs’ book of Devaneya Pāvāṇar
who passed away in 1981, there are no songs about Arogya Mātā (Lady of Health).
Is there anything more to say?

Although large numbers of Indian Christians
congregate and worship at the Vēḷāṅkaṇṇi Church, no pope has visited or prayed
to Arogya Mātā. What is the reason?

Without the approval of the Holy See, how did this
become a basilica?

Does Biblical authority support ostentatious rituals
in worshipping Mary, as well as large celebrations such as what we see in Vēḷāṅkaṇṇi?

Only when someone looks for answers with substantive
proofs for all these questions, Vēḷāṅkaṇṇi’s true history will be known.

On one of these voyages up the Coromandel
Coast the Portuguese were blown ashore in a storm, at a fishing village 12 km
south of Nagapattinam. They declared that the Virgin Mary had saved them and in
thanksgiving took over the local Vel Ilankanni Amman
Temple (which was the sister shrine of the Vel
Thandakanni Amman Temple at Sikkil, closer to Nagapattinam). This
village has now become the famous Christian pilgrimage centre of Velankanni. The original Devi temple was enclosed within the first
Portuguese church, known as the Mada Koil, that is situated at a
distance from the present Basilica of Our Lady of Health. The stone image of
the Devi was on public display until some years ago, but has since been removed
and an image of the Virgin Mary put in its place.

6 comments:

""Vela" means in sanskrit - coast, tide, shore, boundary of sea and land, boundary ect while " kanya' means girl, maiden , virgin . Kanni is pure tamil word. Hence this temple in sanskrit is to be called as " sea shore virgin "-kadal kanni in tamil which is a boundary between sea and land. Christians fraudulently placed a statue of Mary and named it as " Arokya" mata- lady of health. This temple is worshiped mostly by Hindus without knowing the truth. Does any miracles take place in this temple ? why so much rush to this temple ? christian missionaries stage managed a show of Heavy traffic jam last week on the first day of festival in Chennai made by them with money power by sending all the traffic policemen to stay away from duty on this day mainly in south chennai. This was done deliberately to attract the attention of more people, to show their power of political vote bank policy, to convert more Hindus ect. Christianity is the religion of imitation.

Jayalalithaa is undergoing Jupiter - Saturn - Rahu period from 7th August to 23rd December 2016. She will have health issues during this period. But I don't think things are bad. Her long and strong life line makes me think that she will live longer.

Madam the continuing suspense over CM's health is scaring well wishers also.Is she that serious? Has she gone in Coma?Do you see anything in charts which suggest something ominous for the CM? On one side I feel the poor lady needs rest from all her struggles but the state will suffer if something happens to her. We just have to accept destiny.

It is all a hype done by DMK as they did during Chennai floods. The same persons who started rumour mongering and kept it burning then are involved in the current rumour-war on CM's health. You can not imagine the extent MK's tentacles can spread. For instance, DMK got the local bodies election stalled by justice N. Kirubakaran who was spotted in the wedding of MK's grandson Arulnidhi. See the pic in this link https://twitter.com/IntTam. Arulnidhi married the daughter of retired judge Kannadasan and Justice Kriubakaran attended that wedding and was spotted with MK. Any imagination needed on what MK is capable of doing with connections like this.

In this scenario, people must understand the tricks that MK can do and remain watching the dramas he is pulling out. MK wants the ADMK to break and form govt with the help of breakaway group. Every news that you find in the filthy media is raked up by DMK goons. Even the poster that was supposed to have been pasted by ADMK men saying that they would commit suicide if no news comes out about Jaya's health was found to be a photoshoped one and super imposed on a DMK bill board. This picture was doing rounds in social media.

In any country, a CM's health issue such as the one reported by the hospital would be treated with a level of decency. For the kind of symptoms reported about JJ when she was admitted after she had appeared in public / functions till a day before, there is nothing to panic. But this is Tamilnadu filled with filthy goons. They will write all rotten things just to drive some mileage from it. If it is about JJ, you can expect maximum drama. Everything of what they circulate and do is fit to be ignored.

Now coming to JJ's health, she has a very ling life. Google search images for Jayalalithaa hand. You would find many pics of her showing her hand, with long sweeping life line (https://www.google.co.in/search?q=jayalalithaa+palm&espv=2&biw=1366&bih=654&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi4jsf-mcTPAhXLuI8KHeRLDmkQ_AUIBygC#tbm=isch&q=jayalalithaa+hand&imgrc=_)

Astrologically she is running the dasa- bhukthi of Dharma karmadhipathi lords. They also happen to be Baadhaka and ashtama lords respectively. This would give rise to their share of anxiety. But being Dharma and karma lords they would not kill in their dasa- bhukthi. Particularly Saturn being the Ayush karaka aspecting the 8th house would not kill in its Bhukthi.

Presently she is running Jupiter dasa- saturn bhukthi and Rahu anthararam. This could give rise to poisonous or toxin related health issues. As such I concur with the hospital bulletin that she is suffering from some infection. Already she was known to suffer from Sepsis that affect her skin and is likely to quickly spread as a toxic infection of a bacterial kind. The London doctor is a specialist in treating that. The lung related problems are possible as saturn is in cancer in her natal horoscope.

Usually in fatalities, some trigger factors would be there in transit. There are not many expect one. On the day she was admitted Mars was transiting her birth degrees of Jupiter, the dasa lord and the Baadhaka for her. Mars is her 6th and 11th lord - both inauspicious. The Navamsa dispositor of Mars is Mars itself. Mars is in the star of Ketu. Therefore Mars and Ketu would play a role in causing her serious health conditions. But conducive dasa- bhukthi must be there. Now the natal Martian degree is also being encroached by Rahu and Ketu. But that is being aspected by Jupiter in natal horoscope. So she would come out of the current crisis.

In the immediate context, Jupiter- saturn- Rahu- saturn period was on from 16th September to 10th October. It is in this period she is seriously ill. By 10th October some improvement would be there and she is out of danger.